History of Karate
An Introduction Into Karate
Empty hand fighting is as old as man himself. Innumerable systemised forms of empty hand fighting have been developed all over the world, each reflecting a little of the national culture. That which we call Karate is just one of them.
It is generally accepted that Karate stems from China and came to Japan by way of the Ryukyu Islands
In the early part of the 17th century, Okinawa was invaded and conquered by the Japanese. The Japanese occupied Okinawa for over 250 years and they first banned the possession of weapons to prevent further resistance, so the Okinawans were forced to turn to unarmed combat in order to protect themselves against marauding bandits and the Japanese. Karate reached a high level of development during this period, but even this had to be practised in secret and it was not until the beginning of the 20th Century that Karate was openly practised.
In 1922, Gichen Funakoshi, an Okinawan professor introduced Karate to Japan. He had been invited to Japan to demonstrate Karate and the Japanese were so impressed with him that they persuaded him to stay and teach them this art, which he did until his death in 1957 at the age of 88.
Funakoshi emphasised Kata, etiquette and the philosophical side of Karate.
